Little Traveler Boy
Several months had passed and thankfully Meris had not attempted any more attacks on Tristan. Wyatt had finished up the semester and could spend more time with his wife and son. Presently they were at the Manor, seated at the dinner table. Chris reached across the table to grab the salad but before he could lay a finger on it, the bowl disappeared in a swirl of orbs. It reappeared in front of Wyatt.
"I was going to eat that," Chris shot at his older brother.
"I didn't do it! I swear," Wyatt protested, pushing the bowl towards Chris. Chris reached for the bowl and it disappeared again. All eyes landed on the bowl, sitting right in front of Tristan's seat. The child was squawking happily.
"Well looks like he's trying to show off," Melinda giggled. Wyatt gazed at his son. Despite his eyes not functioning, they were a brilliant blue color.
"Can I have that?" Penny whispered in her son's ear as she picked up the salad bowl. She stood up and walked around the table to give Chris the bowl before Tristan go steal it away again.
"Thanks," Chris muttered, sticking a fork in the salad that now filled his bowl.
Half an hour later the family had convened to the sun room. The younger kids set about doing leftover bits of homework. Chris sat on the couch, playing cards with Henry Jr.
"What you playing?" Paisley asked, plopping down next to Henry Jr.
"Poker," Chris answered, a concentrated look on his face.
"Can I play?" she asked, her elbows now resting on her knees.
"You don't know how to play," Henry stated dismissively. Paisley pouted and got up, wandering towards her mother.
"They won't let me play," she whined, a tear sliding down her cheek.
"Why don't we play a game of our own," Phoebe suggested, directing her daughter's attention to the board games stacked neatly in the corner. Paisley nodded, wiping the tear away. The seven-year-old picked out Monopoly and several other members of the family gathered around to play.
"I'm going to put him down for the night," Penny whispered to Wyatt, who was seated across from Phoebe.
"You want me to orb you home?" he asked, looking up at her.
"No…he'll be fine when we go home later," she assured him. She took her son and headed for the second floor where they kept the spare changing table. She walked into the room she and Wyatt had stayed in during the end of her pregnancy and laid Tristan in the changing table.
"You hang on there for one second while Mommy gets a fresh diaper," Penny cooed at the six-month-old.
She turned her back for a minute to retrieve a diaper when she heard a loud thump above her. She spun around to see her son still lying safely in the changing table. He squirmed slightly as she hurriedly changed his diaper. Slowly she picked him up and headed for the stairs leading to the attic. She slowly pushed open the door, Tristan clutched tightly to her chest. The door opened all the way and she had to gasp, gripping the doorframe to keep from falling over. There was a young boy, no older than seven or eight years old perched on an old trunk. His small legs swung back and forth, hitting the bottom of the trunk with continuous 'thumps'.
"Excuse me," Penny called out in a soft voice. The boy spun around, a smile spreading over his lips. Something about the boy seemed familiar to her but she couldn't place it. He got up and slowly walked towards her. She stopped moving, allowing him to meet her part way. The child in her arms squirmed furiously, starting to cry.
"Shh. It's ok," Penny murmured to the boy, bouncing him up and down.
"Let's go downstairs," the older boy suggested and took Penny's free hand. Still looking shocked she followed him as he pulled her down the stairs with dead on accuracy. It was if he had been in the Manor before. He led Penny into the sun room, making everyone look up.
"I thought you were going to put him….who is that?" Wyatt commented, eyeing the boy with Penny curiously.
"I don't know who he is…I found him in the attic," Penny admitted. The boy swung Penny's arm back and forth as if her touch was familiar to him.
"You found him in the attic?" Piper repeated.
"Yeah…" Penny trailed.
"What's your name sweetie?" Phoebe addressed the older child. He didn't respond right away. His face fell, as if he was expecting they would know him.
"Tristan," he answered, letting go of Penny's hand and sitting down next to Wyatt.
"Aw that's a nice…did he just say what I think he did?" Phoebe remarked, looking as shocked as Penny had.
"Yeah…" Piper answered her sister. Wyatt turned to look at the boy. The first thing he noticed was the boy's eyes. They were a vibrant blue but focused on nothing particular.
"My God," he breathed, instinctively pulling the boy to him in a tight hug.
"Hi Daddy," he whispered against Wyatt's chest. Penny handed the infant Tristan to Chris and fell to her knees by her husband.
"How…how did you get here, sweetie?" Penny murmured, stroking his sandy hair.
"Uncle Chris," Tristan answered sweetly. Wyatt eyed his baby brother.
"Hey…it's got to be in the future so don't blame me," Chris protested.
"Why did he send you back?" Piper asked her grandson.
"To talk to Mommy and Daddy," Tristan answered. He got up and plopped down in her lap. Piper looked a little surprised at the ease with which he moved around. It made her spirit a little calmer to now that he learned to get around by himself.
Before anyone could say anything else, Paisley gasped, infant Tristan began to scream loudly and older Tristan squeezed his eyes shut and his hands covered his ears. Wyatt jumped up, pulling the older version of his son to him. The boy was rocking back and forth. As quickly as the drama had started, it was over.
"Ok….what happened?" Paige asked.
"Premonition," Paisley and older Tristan answered in unison.
"That's the cry he made the last time he got a premonition a few months ago," Penny affirmed.
"That's too weird. What did you see?" Phoebe asked her daughter.
"Meris…she…well does what she always does…attacks us," Paisley answered.
"Me too," Tristan answered with a nod.
"So wait…you both saw the same thing?" Leo asked. The two children nodded.
"I don't think that has ever happened before," he murmured.
"Think of the family you're talking about," Coop whispered to his brother-in-law.
"Any idea when she might attack?" Chris asked. Before anyone could answer him, Meris shimmered in.
"Speak of the devil," Piper sighed. Wyatt started to put up his shield around future Tristan but the boy disappeared. He reappeared right in front of Meris.
"What's this," Meris purred, a fireball forming in her hands. Chris telekinetically sent it at a wall, leaving a large scorch mark.
"How dare you," she hissed at Chris.
"Sorry bitch but you're going down," Wyatt hissed. No one even bothered to reprimand him for his language.
"You were always a problem weren't you," she sneered at the eldest Halliwell. Penny watched in horror, trying desperately to grab future Tristan by the arm to get him away from Meris. She knew he could use his shield but he didn't have it up right now and that worried her.
"Leave him alone," future Tristan shouted at the demon. Her attention reverted back to boy standing before her.
"And what are you going to do about it," she snickered at him. She produced an athame and with one fluid motion moved to stab him. Quick as a shot Tristan not only disappeared in orbs but grabbed the athame and stabbed her in the arm. She gasped in pain and shimmered out. Everyone simply stared at the child.
"Thank God you're ok," Penny breathed, pulling him to her.
"We need to talk," Wyatt stated and led his wife and son out of the room. He led them into the kitchen. He watched Tristan sit down in a chair. Penny sat down next to him.
"So you said you came back to talk to me and Mommy. What did you need to talk to us about, buddy?" Wyatt asked, holding the boy's left hand firmly in his right.
"To show you that I can do things. Just because I don't see doesn't mean I can't do things," Tristan stated, sounding wise beyond his years.
"We know you can protect yourself honey. But it's our job as your parents to worry about you. Especially with demons around," Penny explained.
"But you try to keep me too safe," Tristan protested.
"What do you mean?" Wyatt inquired.
"You don't let me do anything because you're afraid I'll get hurt," he explained to his parents.
"I can see things before they happen. So in my own way I see," he added.
"I guess we have to accept that you're like a regular kid, huh?" Wyatt proposed and the boy nodded vehemently.
"Ok…we'll do our best," Penny promised.
"Now come on. Let's get you back to your own time," Wyatt said, ushering the boy towards the stairs.
"I need to say goodbye," Tristan stated, tugging on Wyatt's sleeve. With a sigh, Wyatt led the boy back into room.
"We're sending him back but he wants to say goodbye to everyone first," he said. He watched as his son went and gave each and every member of the family a firm hug. He held onto Piper an extra long time.
"I love you Grammy," he whispered.
"I love you too," she murmured back.
"Time to go," Penny called and the boy orbed out, reappearing next to her. Twenty minutes later Penny and Wyatt returned from the attic.
"Well he's back. I guess we didn't really believe he could protect himself until we really saw it first hand," Wyatt admitted.
"Now that you know will you stop treating the kid like he's going to break?" Chris begged.
"Not just yet. But we will…we're still parents and he's only six months old. We still have the right to worry," Penny answered, flashing the eighteen-year-old a smile.